


Cuddle Buddy

by andtheny



Series: Phantom Pain [6]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Boundaries, Developing Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Pitch Pearl if you squint, Romantic Friendship, Separate Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom, Unresolved Emotional Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:29:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25066933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andtheny/pseuds/andtheny
Summary: Phantom is increasingly affectionate with his human counterpart. Danny wants a bit of space.
Relationships: Phantom & Fenton
Series: Phantom Pain [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1383205
Comments: 9
Kudos: 55





	Cuddle Buddy

Phantom was like a puppy. An invisible, handsy puppy. Danny could _feel_ his presence intermittently throughout the week. 

He no longer jumped or shouted if an invisible hand was suddenly on his shoulder, fingers trailing down his arm or tangling in his hair. 

Hell, he wasn't even surprised whenever Phantom went ahead and sat himself on Danny's lap. He could be in class or at the mall, in the cafeteria or the gymnasium bleachers and he'd feel the cold elastic of Phantom's jumpsuit.

If he had to guess the ghost weighed about as much as a small dog- though he was twice the size. And he'd cling on like a koala. 

_"Get off_ ," Danny whispered. 

"Get what?" Sam said. 

Phantom nuzzled his face into Danny's neck. His cold breath made Danny shiver. 

"Uh, c-can I get… a taste of that taco, Tuck?" 

They still didn't know how weird Phantom had begun acting. Phantom had agreed to tone in down in front of them. 

_And if this is toned down what the hell would he be like without restraint?_

"Dude, you hate chorizo," Tucker said. 

Phantom's hair was tickling his nose. Danny blinked at the table, and tried not to react to it. 

Or to react to the way Phantom's hands were rubbing rhythmic circles on his back. 

"Danny?" 

"Sorry. I forgot I hate chorizo," Danny said. "Wait, what's chorizo?" 

"Innocent dead pigs!" Sam said, glaring at Tucker's plate. 

"It's like a spicy Mexican pork… thing," Tucker said, rolling his eyes at Sam. "I dunno man, but you're both missing out. It's delish!" 

Something was wrapping around Danny's leg. 

_Something was wrapping around his leg_. 

What the hell.

Danny stood. "I have to go to the bathroom!"

He tried to subtly dislodge Phantom's arms as he ran, but they wouldn't budge. 

When he got to the bathroom he kicked the stall doors open. Empty. All of them. 

"Phantom!"

The ghost appeared and Danny stared at his right leg, where a wispy black _tail_ was coiled three times over. 

"You have a _tail!_ " 

Phantom finally loosened his hold on Danny's torso and leaned back to blink at him. "Huh?" 

Danny shook his leg out. "Get it off my leg! Get it off!" 

Phantom released him entirely and flew to the mirror to examine himself. "Whoa, I really do have a tail." 

"You didn't _notice_?" 

Phantom shook his head, still frowning at his reflection. As they both continued to stare, the tail split into two and Phantom's boots re-appeared with a _pop._

Danny shuddered. "That was…" 

"Weird," Phantom supplied. "Yup, that was weird." 

He glared at his reflection, slowly floating towards the ceiling like an untethered balloon. 

Danny grabbed his ankle and pulled him down, unintentionally bringing the ghost's attention back to himself. 

Phantom ruffled his hair. "Didn't mean to freak you out, Fenton." He laughed. "From now on I'll keep my tail to myself?" 

Danny brushed his hand off. "Why don't you keep _all_ of yourself to yourself?" 

The ghost tilted his head and pursed his lips. "Cause… that would be lonely?" 

The ghost floated closer, as if to resume his koala hold, but Danny held up a hand. The universal _stop_ sign. 

Phantom hovered in place with a pout. 

"Have you ever considered, I dunno, getting a _different_ cuddle buddy?" 

"Cuddle buddy," Phantom echoed. 

"Like I don't know if it's some weird ghost instinct," Danny said. "Or just a _you_ thing, but-" 

"I thought you liked my hugs." 

Gone was Phantom's playful pout. He usually liked to make a show of exaggerated emotions, but now he just floated in place.

Without blinking. 

"I like your hugs," Danny muttered. "But-" 

And suddenly the bathroom was warmer, the mirrors behind Phantom dripping with condensation as the ghost grinned and abruptly swept Danny off his feet. 

"What!" And just like that Danny was being cradled against Phantom's chest like a mother rocking her baby to sleep.

"We should get out of here before someone comes in to pee, wouldn't you say?" Phantom murmured against his ear. "Still got time till the bell rings… let's hang out on the roof!" 

"Wait, Phantom-" But the ghost was already flying, fast as a gust of wind, and the air snatched his words away. 

"I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner," Phantom said. 

He set Danny back on his feet and excitedly flew in quick circles around him, hovering like a hummingbird with a bird feeder.

"We could have a picnic up here! Next time we should bring Tucker and Sam-" 

Danny sighed. "They'd probably like that." 

Phantom beamed at him. "They would, right? Get a big old blanket and-"

"Would you stop for a second?" Danny said. "Please. Just… stop." 

So Phantom set his boots firmly down on the ground and stood with his hands on Danny's shoulders, squinting at him with an intensity that was becoming disturbingly familiar. 

"What's _wrong,_ Fenton?" 

"I need some space," Danny said. "Stop showing up around school, at least." 

"Space," Phantom echoed. "Space?"

Danny felt like he'd just taken a little kid's balloon from him. And popped it. In his face.

"No picnic then?" Phantom said.

"W-we _can_ do a picnic," Danny nudged Phantom's hands off his shoulders. "Maybe next week. With Sam and Tucker, like you said. But otherwise…" 

"But otherwise I can't come to school," Phantom said. 

"Not unless I call you with the Fenton phones," Danny said. 

Phantom frowned.

"Or _someone_ calls you," Danny amended. 

Phantom sighed. "But I can't see you _at all_ when you're at Fenton Works." 

_And thank God for that_ , Danny thought. 

"Well, there's still the hang outs-" 

"You don't let me _touch_ you when we're with-"

"Yeah but-"

"And we never hang out _alone_ anymore." Phantom's eyes were glowing brighter now, his voice rising. "Today's the first time since Ember's concert that I've had you to myself for more than five minutes."

"Then why don't you find someone else?" Danny said. "If you dated Sam or Paulina-" 

Phantom threw his hands in the air. "Are we talking about the same thing here? What does this have to do with them?" 

"It's about your weird cuddle bug? I don't know what to call it, but if you tried solving it with _someone else-_ " 

At these words Phantom honest to god _growled_ and Danny noticed pebbles and leaves beginning to hover in a little cloud around the ghost's head. 

"Someone else, someone else," Phantom mimicked. "You keep saying that, but there isn't someone else! _You're_ my… my…" 

"What? Your body?" 

The pebbles clattered against the ground as they were dropped. 

"That's it right?" Danny said. "Instinctively, you just want your body back?" 

" _No_ ," Phantom said. 

" _Yes,_ " Danny said. "That's the only explanation." 

They glared at each other. 

"But I don't want," Phantom struggled to find the right words. "I mean, it's… I don't-" 

Then the bell was ringing and they both flinched. 

"Drop me off in one of the bathroom stalls," Danny sighed. 

"Fenton-" 

"We don't need to talk about this anymore." 

The angry glow in Phantom's eyes had faded. They were back to their dimmer green, like a friendly night light at the end of the hall. 

Or like a dying flame, running out of fuel. 

"I'll stop bothering you at school," Phantom whispered when he set Danny down in the bathroom they'd started in. 

Then he vanished. 


End file.
